RESOLVED: The minutes from the
previous meeting were agreed as a correct record and signed by the
Chairman.

RD4:

Declarations of Interest

Please indicate if there are any interests
which should be declared. A declaration
of interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not
already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item
to which it relates. If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the
Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is
discussed.

Those declarations apply to all Members
present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to
speak as a local Member on an item or simply observing the meeting
from the public seating area.

Minutes:

Councillor Kemp declared an interest as a
Norfolk County Councillor.

RD5:

Urgent Business

To consider any business which, by reason of
special circumstances, the Chairman proposes to accept as urgent
under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local
Government Act, 1972.

Minutes:

There was none.

RD6:

Members Present Pursuant to Standing Order 34

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing
Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and
on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting
commences. Any Member attending the
meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on
those items which have been previously notified to the
Chairman.

The Panel considered the report which had been
circulated with the Agenda. A brief
overview of the work of the Custom Build and Self Build Policy
Development Task Group was provided to the Panel.

The Panel also noted that, should the need
arise, the Informal Working Groups which were to be disbanded could
be revived or new Informal Working Groups could be established.

RESOLVED: 1.That the Custom
and Self Build Policy Development Task Group continues to operate
and the Democratic Services Officer be instructed to seek
Membership of the Task Group from the Group Leaders for the
2019/2020 municipal year. The Panel
resolved that the Task Group should be made up of 4 Members (2
Conservative, 1 Independent and 1 Labour).

2. The following Informal Working Groups to be
disbanded as they have concluded their work:

Officers provided information on the High
Street Heritage Action Scheme and the funding opportunity, as
included in the attached presentation.

The Property Services Officer provided some
background information on the Scheme, explaining that the Historic
England Urban Panel had previously identified King’s Lynn as
an area of significance and had encouraged it to apply for Heritage
Action Zone status. King’s Lynn
had subsequently been designated as one of only a handful of
Heritage Action Zones in the country.

Members broke out into groups for a workshop
session to consider if a bid should be submitted to the fund, how
much should the Council bid for, what areas should be focussed on
and should public realm improvements be included.

The Panel was informed that £40 million
was available in the fund countrywide and Councils could submit
bids ranging from £250,000 to £2 million, with the
expectation that this would be match funded.

Feedback from the workshop sessions
included:

·
The town centre offer needed to focus on offering something that
could not be provided on the internet.
Move away from retail, which could be done online at home and focus
on leisure and restaurants.

·
The offer needed to be suitable for all age groups.

·
Play areas and soft play complex.

·
Utilise the post office building. It
could be converted into small units.

·
Utilise the space above shops for flats. Living above flats would help bring activity into
the town centre. Rent rates could be
capped to encourage people to move into the town centre.

·
Car parking needed to be considered if more people were being
encouraged to live in the town centre.

·
Creative Hub/IT cafes to bring in young people.

·
Relocate the library into the town centre.

·
Men’s shed.

·
Crafting and sewing.

·
Indoor skate park in the town centre.

·
Street Art.

·
Greenery and water features.

·
Some money to be used for public realm to soften some areas and
combine this with street art.

·
Exhibition space.

·
Look at other funding opportunities for public realm.

·
Work in partnership with charities and youth based
organisations.

·
Use vacant units for pop up shops and give people the opportunity
to test new businesses.

·
Refurbish shop fronts.

·
Encourage development around the bigger units.

Each of the breakout groups had different
thoughts on how much the Council should bid for, ranging from
£1 to £1.25 million.

The Chairman thanked Members for their
contributions.

RESOLVED: The feedback from
the workshops would be used to assist with the application for
funding.

The following items were suggested for
addition to the Work Programme:

·
Walk around King’s Lynn.

·
Southgates.

·
Flood Risk. The Panel was informed that
this item would fall within the remit of the Environment and
Community Panel.

RESOLVED: The Panel’s
Work Programme was noted.

RD11:

Exclusion of the Press and Public

To consider passing the following
resolution:

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the
Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from
the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that
it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined
in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act”.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That under Section
100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public
be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on
the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt
information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to
the Act.

Members of the Panel had conducted a tour of
the Corn Exchange and the proposed cinema area, prior to the
meeting.

The Executive Director presented Members with
information on the proposals and the report that would be presented
to Cabinet on 18th June.

Councillor Beal addressed the Panel under
Standing Order 34 and officers responded to questions relating to
the cost of showing a film and the percentage which would be
payable to the film provider.
Information was also provided on the ticket price and occupancy
rates. Councillor Beal referred to
other cinemas in the area, including attendances at
Hunstanton.

The Executive Director referred to the
Consultant’s report which had been presented to Cabinet in
October 2018 and provided more information on costs, projected
profits and a sensitivity test.

Councillor Morley addressed the Panel under
Standing Order 34 and commented that the risk and cost was too high
and he was suspicious of the data which had been included in the
report. He also commented that if there
was a demand for a greater cinema offer in King’s Lynn, then
surely a large multiplex would have already taken advantage of
this. Councillor Morley also commented
that the space could perhaps be better utilised to accommodate the
needs of young people. The Executive
Director responded that multiplex cinemas had been interested in
coming to King’s Lynn, but it was important to encourage
people into the town centre and protect the existing offer at the
Majestic. The Executive Director
explained that the owner of the Majestic had been supportive of the
proposals. It was also explained that the idea of the cinema had
originally been considered as part of the Guildhall redevelopment,
making use of the White Barn. However
plans for the Guildhall had now moved on.

Councillor Moriarty addressed the Panel under
Standing Order 34. He was concerned
that the market could change in the future and there could be less
demand for cinemas with films being made available at home
earlier. He did agree that it was
important to bring life into the town centre, but car parking would
need to be considered. The Executive
Director acknowledged the concerns, which were mirrored by the
industry as a whole.

Councillor Lowe raised concerns about
competition between the Corn Exchange and the Majestic. He was also concerned that there were not enough
restaurants available in King’s Lynn to support the early
evening economy. It was explained by
officers that programming would be looked at and that the owner of
the Majestic had been supportive of the proposals. The Portfolio Holder for Project Delivery,
Councillor Gidney, commented that he felt that King’s Lynn
had a lot to offer, it was important to continue to build on the
offer for the future and that there were a lot of restaurants
available in the evening. He also
commented that an out of town cinema would have a detrimental
effect on the Majestic.